Shower apparatus



United States Patent Jane 0. Mc Dermott 46 Birch St., Worcester, Mass.01603 Appl. No. 774,363

Filed Nov. 8, 1968 Patented Dec. 29, 1970 Inventor SHOWER APPARATUS 3Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 239/562, 4/145, 239/275, 239/565, 239/566 Int. Cl A62c 37/20Field of Search 4/145, 146, 147; 239/20, 201, 202, 208, 273, 275,548,562, 565, 566

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/ l 874 Brown 7/1879 Hennes syet al. 10/ l 9 1 6 Bergman 12/1929 Coles 3/1934 Barclay 12/1964 Hunter10/1965 Zysk Primary Examiner-Lloyd L. King Assistant ExaminerTh0maS C.Culp, Jr. Art0rneyNorman S. Blodgett ABSTRACT: This invention relates toa shower apparatus and, more particularly, to a shower head located in arecessed shower wall element.

SHOWER APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is common practice inthe building trades to install a shower head on a shower wall bydrilling a hole through'one of the tiles. A conduit extends through thehole and the shower head is attached to its free end. Although thisarrangement is relatively simple and inexpensive, it is very awkward inappearance. The person using the shower often strokes the protrudingshower head with resultant discomfort and, sometimes, serious injury.Furthennore, because the head protrudes into the showerarea, it isnecessary to provide a larger area, particularly in the case of a showerstall. Since the shower head is directed angularly downwardly, theperson taking a shower never uses that part of the shower stall intowhich the head protrudes. These and other difficulties experienced withthe prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by thepresent invention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide ashower apparatus which is safe to use because it does not protrude intoa shower stall.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a shower apparatuswhich has a pleasing appearance.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a showerapparatus which permits the use of a smaller shower stall.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of partsset forth in the specification and covered by the claims appendedhereto.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In general, the invention consists of a showerapparatus having a wall element with a cavity adapted to be mounted inthe wall of a shower enclosure and-having a shower head mounted on theelement within the cavity. More specifically, the wall element has asquare outline which is the same size and shape as a tile on the showerenclosure. The head is provided with a valve mechanism having anactuating handle which resides within the cavity. The shower head formsa spray pattern that is directed out of the cavity without strikingitsedge.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The character of the invention,however, may be best understood by reference to one of its structuralforms, as illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shower'apparatus embodying theprinciples of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the apparatus taken on the lineIl-ll ofFlG. 3,

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the apparatus taken on the lineIII-III of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the apparatus taken on the lineIV-IV of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG. 1,wherein are best shown the general features of the invention, the showerapparatus, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, is shown ashaving a wall element 11 and a shower head 12. The wall element isformed as a single piece of ceramic with a top wall 13, a bottom wall14, sidewalls 15 and 16, and a rear wall 17. The inner surfaces of thesewalls form a cavity 18 which, when the apparatus is mounted in the wall20 of a shower enclosure, faces inwardly of the enclosure. The elementfits exactly into the space normally occupied by a tile of the wall ofthe shower enclosure. The shower head 12 is mounted on the wall element11 so that it lies entirely within the cavity.

The spray or shower head 12 is provided with a regulating mechanism 19having an actuating handle 21 which resides within the cavity.

LII

As is evident in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the shower headl2 is provided with acylindrical housing 22 mounted on the end of a conduit 23 extendingthrough the rear wall 17 of the wall element 11; The conduit is normallyconnected to a source of water under pressure. The handle 21 is fastenedto the end of a horizontal stem or shaft 24 which extends into thehousing parallel to its axis and carries a cam 25. A plurality ofnozzles 26 are slidably carried in the portion of the housing facingoutwardly and their inner ends are fastened to a tubular cam follower 27of square cross section. The follower has a divider wall 27 defining apocket which embraces the cam 25, which cam is in the shape of aneccentric circular'cylinder. The follower can, therefore, be movedforwardly or backwardly by the rotation of the handle 2l'and the shaft24.'The nozzles all share in this motion. Each nozzle has an axialpassage 28 terminating at its rearward end in a conical valve seat 29.Mounted on the rear inner surface of the housing 22 is a horizontalvalve pin 31 aligned with each nozzle 26 and having a conical point 32on its free end which lies in the recess 29 of its respective nozzle.

The operation of the apparatus will be clearly understood in the lightof the above description. Water under pressure flows from the conduit23, enters the housing 22, and flows into the cam follower 27. It flowsthrough the annular space between the conical valve seat 29 of eachnozzle and the point 32 of its pin 31. From there the water flows in astream through the passages 28 of the noules and is directed outwardlyinto the shower enclosure. The particular details of the manner in whichthe spray is formed are a matter of design, but it is important that thenozzle arrangement'a-nd the spray pattern be such that it does notstrike the edge of the cavity 187 There will be, therefore, noreflective splashing from the surfaces of the cavity and littleaccumulation of water in the bottom of the cavity. It is desirable totilt the upper surface'of the bottom wall 14 of the wall elementslightly downwardly and outwardly to assure that water does not soaccumulate.

It can be seen, then, that the person usingthe shower is free of thedanger of striking his head against the shower head. Because theelements are entirely outside of the shower enclosure, it is possible touse a smaller enclosure, particularly in regard to the horizontaldimension in the direction of the spray, i.e., at a right angle to thewall 20 in which the apparatus is mounted. The aesthetic appearance ofthe shower stall is considerably enhanced by the arrangement of theinvention, since a shower head is somewhat of an ugly functional device(no matter how well designed); placing it somewhat out of sight in therecess makes the remainder of the shower stall appear beautifullysimple.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form andconstruction of the invention without departing from the material spiritthereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to theexact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include allsuch as properly come within the scope claimed.

Iclaim:

l. A shower apparatus, comprising:

a. wall element having a cavity adapted to be mounted in the wall of ashower enclosure which is lined with rectangular tiles, the wall elementhaving a boxlike configuration with top, bottom, side, and back wallsdefining the cavity, the outer surfaces of the top, bottom, andsidewalls forming a square outline which is the same size and shape asone of the tiles forming the wall of the shower enclosure;

. a shower head 'mounted on the element with at least a major portionlying within the cavity, the shower head forming a spray pattern that isdirected out of the cavity without striking its edges, the shower headbeing supported by a single conduit passing through the central portionof a back wall of the element, the shower head having a cylindricalouter housing arranged entirely within the cavity with its axishorizontal; and

all of the nozzles to tie them together for simultaneous movement,wherein a cam mounted on the actuating handle stem contacts the camfollower, and wherein a valve pin is mounted on the opposite side of thehousing coaxially with each nozzle and having a conical free end lyingadjacent the valve seat.

3. A shower apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the wall element isof single-piece ceramic construction.

